"13"

As director Richard Linklater’s "Boyhood" accumulates critics’ raves and commandeers (deservedly) tons of media attention, it seems like some equal-opportunity cinematic praise is in order.  So, let’s review some of the best “girlhood” movies of recent times.    One of the great joys of watching a quintessential girlhood movie is getting to see a young unknown actress—like Michelle Rodriguez in "Girlfight," Jennifer Lawrence in "Winter’s Bone," or Quvenzhané Wallis in "Beasts of the Southern Wild"—strut her stuff in a way that announces, “I’m going to be a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood.”   

In an age when fewer young people exhibit interest or knowledge about classic films made before 1970, I am always amazed at the staying power of Audrey Hepburn, particularly among women.

Comedy fans, rejoice! Today is Mel Brooks’s 88th Birthday - and this year also marks the 40th anniversary of two enduring Brooks classics: “Blazing Saddles” came out in February ‘74, while “Young Frankenstein” premiered in December.

When Simon and Garfunkel came out with the song “Mrs. Robinson” on the soundtrack for the coming of age film “The Graduate” (1967), baseball great Joe DiMaggio was angry about the lyric that asks, “Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?” Then one day Simon and Joltin’ Joe met coincidentally at a restaurant where, according to Simon, they “immediately fell into conversation about the only subject we had in common." "What I don't understand," DiMaggio said, "is why you ask where I've gone. I just did a Mr. Coffee commercial.” Simon explained that he didn’t mean it literally – he just meant that he considered Joe a hero at a time that “genuine heroes were in short supply.” What he didn’t say was… And now, you are doing a Mr. Coffee commercial.

It’s easy just to focus on Angie Dickinson’s physical attributes and allure. But before the pictures below allow us to do just that, let’s remember that behind that powerful, unapologetic sexuality was a strong woman who had the brains and talent to become an enduring star.

With the coming of May, parents reflexively steel themselves for the end of the school year, and that interim period before the kids get immersed in their various summer experiences and activities.

It’s a bit of a mystery why lines like  “Do I feel lucky?” (“Dirty Harry,” 1971)  and “I’ll be back!” (“The Terminator,” 1984) enter the popular zeitgeist, but there’s no denying they do. And there’s more than a bit of magic to that.

I can vividly recall the first moment I saw Meryl Streep on-screen. The film was “The Deer Hunter” (1978). Her part was relatively small — she played the stateside love interest of two men shipped off to Vietnam — but I was immediately struck by her presence. 

Just like the image of her fragile, unconventional beauty trapped within the glow of a tight spotlight, Judy Garland’s life as a performer was surrounded by a vast darkness. She gave the world her special gift, and it gave back not a shred of happiness. There was an overarching sadness about her that only grew more pronounced as the hard years went by. As Frank Sinatra put it, “When she sang, it always felt like she died a little.”   It was tragic pretty much from the outset. When overbearing show mom Ethel Milne found she was pregnant with her third child by husband Frank Gumm, she attempted to induce miscarriage by throwing herself down a flight of stairs. Failing that, she tried to get an abortion. This desire may have partly stemmed from Ethel’s growing suspicion that her husband was homosexual. Regardless, a family friend finally convinced the couple that this little one would be a blessing. They hoped for a boy. On June 10, 1922 they welcomed their third daughter – Frances Ethel Gumm – the combined hopes of her mother and father right there in her name.